The Heflin resident was the lone member of a nine-person crew that was present at the scene of the explosion, which state officials and Colonial Pipeline - the company that owns the line - have said was instigated by a piece of excavation equipment striking the pipeline.

Little about the 48-year-old pipeline worker has been made public, and a call to his wife, Beverly Willingham, went unanswered Wednesday. The couple was married for more than 25 years and had two daughters and multiple grandchildren.

One of Anthony Willingham's daughters told WSFA Wednesday that her father was a welder and heavy machinery worker for L.E. Bell Construction of Heflin for more than two decades.

Including, Willingham, eight of the nine workers who were at the work site in Shelby County where the Monday explosion happened were employed by L.E. Bell, and one was employed by another company, Colonial told AL.com Tuesday. Four other workers who were injured in the blast were transported Monday to UAB's burn unit for treatment. Willingham's body was recovered from the blast site Tuesday morning.

David York, a spokesman for Colonial, said Tuesday that the needs of the workers who were present at the explosion site and of their family members were the company's highest priority in the initial aftermath of the blast.

"Our focus right now is the care and comfort of the injured and the family of the gentleman who died in this event," he said. "It a devastating event, not only for the company, but also for those families, and we've got to jointly get through that."